448 réponses à ce sujet

[BartjeD]

I suppose scaling and downscaling are fine if they are done plausibly with an eye for the setting and how it would appear towards the (roleplaying) player. If the scaling doesn't give a funny feeling or break immersion in the setting then its fine. For action oriented modules you can get away with more obvious scaling because those focus on the challenge of fights, and less on the roleplay elements. So the first order of business is to decide what kind of module you're making.

[Lance Botelle]

But why would you want to adjust anything to meet the players level in the first place, surely you know roughly what level they are or are you making something for any level ? <SNIP>

As for the dragon I'd leave it as it is and if the party came back at a mega high level then they can just have an easier time killing it it's not really a problem.

Hi IFMP,

I think scaling creatures could work well for things like "guards" when a reasonable semblance of being able to deal with a situation makes more sense for the encounter. e.g. A warehouse guarded in a city where the party could approach the building at any number of levels. Here, I would consider allowing the guards to scale with the level of the party to make the encounter worthwhile. (There would be a maximum to their level scaling of course.) However, if the said warehouse contained a "basilisk", then I would not scale that down if the PCs entering had managed to deal with the said guards that had in theory scaled with the party. Unless of course, for a plot point, I made the basilisk "drugged" and vulnerable, etc.

As for the dragon, I agree.

Cheers,
Lance.

[kamal_]

DM rolls "wild boar" on the encounter table, decides that's too much for the party...

"Along the road you meet a traveller with a seemingly neverending stream of incredibly boring stories. He wants to travel with you.

[Lance Botelle]

DM rolls "wild boar" on the encounter table, decides that's too much for the party...

"Along the road you meet a traveller with a seemingly neverending stream of incredibly boring stories. He wants to travel with you.

Hi Kamal,

I'm not quite sure what you mean regarding the "traveller" reference, but it sounds like you also prefer non-scaled encounters ... but am I to assume you have variations within an encounter to allow for potential differences in party scope?

Cheers,
Lance.

[kamal_]

The idea was that the dm decided to interpret a randomly rolled "wild boar" encounter to make the random encounter fit the party's abilities (the wild boar being too powerful for them to fight), so the dm decided that instead of a feral hog ("wild boar") they got an unwashed ("wild") human who tells incredibly boring stories ("bore"). So the party encounters a "wild bore", a dialog based encounter where the party power level didnt matter.

[kamal_]

I am in the scale within a range camp. Sickly, normal, battle hardened allow there to be some range in hit dice/CR. Enemies that are unique or limited in number such as the tribal chief, shamans, fighters favored of their gods, are the enemies I am willing to give larger power increases to.

Some creatures such as the skeletons and zombies already mentioned, have official examples in a wide hit dice range even if they are normally seen by players in a narrow power band.

For encounters that are main plot, I'd try to make sure that they meet some minimum power level. You dont want to run into a dragon that is supposed to be threatening to level the kingdom per the plot, only to have it be levelled down so a level three party can defeat it, just because the party managed to reach the dragon at level three. Any dragon a level three party can directly take on simply doesnt fit into the plot concept of "the dragon can level the kingdom".

[rjshae]

The idea was that the dm decided to interpret a randomly rolled "wild boar" encounter to make the random encounter fit the party's abilities (the wild boar being too powerful for them to fight), so the dm decided that instead of a feral hog ("wild boar") they got an unwashed ("wild") human who tells incredibly boring stories ("bore"). So the party encounters a "wild bore", a dialog based encounter where the party power level didnt matter.

 

Willpower save vs. groan... failed.

[kamal_]

For the gnoll camp already mentioned, a low level party would find a small group sickly or normal gnolls, and a chief who wasnt particularly more powerful than a regular gnoll. The high level party would get a lot of battle hardened gnolls. Battle hardened gnolls could still be canon fodder for a high level party, their danger would come from sheer number. But in addition to the battle hardened gnolls there would be a Chief, a shaman or several, and a couple of Fangs of Yeenoghu. These elite members of the tribe would then be the main threat to a higher level party. The regular gnolls might only have 2-3 hit dice, but the elites might go up to 10-15th level, with class levels and everything, and still be in a believable power range. A powerful gnoll shaman could cast like a high level druid for instance, while the chief has barbarian levels and a magic axe, and the Fangs of Yeenoghu are blessed by Yeenoghu with damage reduction.

[kamal_]

@rjshae: the wild boar example was actually in one of the early DM guides on how to handle the wide danger range of wilderness encounters, along with the ideas of sick/injured creatures. Yes, it's a groaner.

[Eguintir Eligard]

The dm rolls "sea hag". Suddenly the party spots a booze addled old bat in her skivvies passed out?

[Dann-J]

[DM rolls "nymph"]

 

The party encounters a nymph, one of 26 nymph sisters. Nymphs A to N and nymphs P to Z have gone missing. The one remaining nymph proves to be very popular.

[Lance Botelle]

The idea was that the dm decided to interpret a randomly rolled "wild boar" encounter to make the random encounter fit the party's abilities (the wild boar being too powerful for them to fight), so the dm decided that instead of a feral hog ("wild boar") they got an unwashed ("wild") human who tells incredibly boring stories ("bore"). So the party encounters a "wild bore", a dialog based encounter where the party power level didnt matter.

Ah! I get it. Sorry, I missed the pun.

It's been a long week.

EDIT: I like the other two from E.E. and Dann-J too.

Cheers,
Lance.

[Eguintir Eligard]

Get it?? "SEE HAG"!

[Dann-J]

Get it?? "SEE HAG"!

 

[PJ156]

You plan the party meet a red dragon somewhere along the way of doing a scenario. The party make their way and by some good rolls of the dice they finally reach this encounter. Now, do you leave the dragon "as is" from the moment you envisaged it, or, because the party are lower level than you expected them to be, do you scale the dragon encounter down a couple of levels?

 

 

As Kamal said in the posts above.

 

Scale the randoms and leave the dragon as it is. Offer a dialogue way out or not as you see fit, but if you don't., then include an autosave

 

PJ

[Eguintir Eligard]

Games with a "way out" of every possible way you can get into trouble are totally lame imo. That's one of the few soz things done right, the ability to wander into certain death if you ignore all good sense and warning signs.

[Dann-J]

Games with a "way out" of every possible way you can get into trouble are totally lame imo. That's one of the few soz things done right, the ability to wander into certain death if you ignore all good sense and warning signs.

 

SoZ encounters always offered you a way out - you could run past the enemies and leave the area without fighting them. If you did that enough times you could earn the Yellow Dragon history feat.

[Lance Botelle]

#4 ALTHEA MANUAL GOES BETA

 

Don't go getting too excited ... I did say the "MANUAL". However, this is a reasonably good sign that I am relatively confident that the campaign systems to be released with the first module are now in place and stable.

VIEW/DOWNLOAD THE BETA MANUAL (VER 2) HERE (NOW < 21 MB): https://onedrive.liv...890A9181FA!2704

This option is now be viewed ONLINE and downloaded if desired.

(If viewed more than once online, you may need to refresh your browser page to ensure the manual displays correctly.)

 

I decided to release the manual now (as a BETA for anyone interested) so that players can make comments about anything they read, be it questions on any systems, comments to make things clearer, or simply to be able to provide initial feedback on any presentation. Also, for those who have followed my blog, to let me know if they feel I should have covered anything else in the manual that they recall reading from the blog.



The Althéa Manual Goes BETA!

There may be some areas I still need to cover in the manual, but will leave that to any BETA testers of the module itself to comment on. After all, the testers will be in the best position to comment after having access to both.

As far as the module itself is concerned, I have just started my first play through to polish any of the first areas and general code at the start. All is going relatively smoothly at the moment, but I know there are some later areas that still need a degree of work to finish before a final test. However, if the first few areas go well, then I will most likely release this for BETA testing after updating the final areas that need doing without replaying the whole thing myself.

Things updated over the last few weeks:-

1) Added last of the area music.
2) Completed adding Load screens.
3) Removal of debug feedback that was not of the "toggle" type. (Also removed all test objects.)
4) Fixed AMMO quantities in stores. (Amount increased to 50 at a time to allow better economy.)
5) Added some LORE entries.
6) Improved some early conversations to flow more smoothly. (As I have improved.)

Some things that still need doing:-

1) About 3 areas, with related content and code.
2) Finish updating the Bestiary for this module.
3) Finish adding any LORE that may be required.
4) A few related journal entries still need finishing.
5) More combat balancing.

MODULE ETA: 2015
 
SECTION(S) MISSING (DO I NEED TO INCLUDE THEM?):
 
Spell Durations: http://worldofalthea...time-again.html

[Lance Botelle]

#5 RUNE PUZZLES (EXTRA)
 
Regular readers of my blog will know that I like puzzles in my games, and will have already read about this rune puzzle. However, as it has been quite some time since I last posted about them, I thought I would make another post for the end of the year, as I begin to finish off this section of the module.
 
MINI-GAME PUZZLES: http://worldofalthea...me-puzzles.html
RUNE PUZZLE (MORE INFO): http://worldofalthea...-revisited.html

Scenario Specific

This area was always going to be one of the last parts I worked on for the module, as it involves quite a bit of custom code based around the theme of using runes. Note, some rune puzzles are not scenario specific and will appear throughout the campaign. However, this particular use of them is very much geared to this dungeon. Obviously, I won't go into detail, but it will be clear that the heroes will have to find runes throughout the dungeon to be able to continue their quest.



The hero finds a sturdy bag containing three runes!



Rune bag information displayed in the new inventory!

When the heroes discover an object where they can use the runes they have found, then an interface automatically updates according to the runes they have already acquired. Note, the runes they have found may be useable in different ways, and so tactical use of them with the different objects may be required.



Not enough runes carried to work with this object!

I have made a couple of updates since my last post about this rune puzzle. One particular difference is that, as in many other areas of in-game puzzles, I have added a button that gives the player access to more detailed instructions if need be.



Player has access to detailed instructions for puzzle.

Anyway, it's that time of year when I seem to slow down even more than usual (lack of sun probably), and so will be taking things a little easier for a few weeks (as if I did not take things easy enough already). However, as I have explained before, as a Christian, I do not celebrate the upcoming season festivals, which have their background in pagan rituals and are a man-made addition to what God has instructed us regarding worshipping Him, and so will, hopefully, not be restricted to updates on the module on account of this.

Therefore, unless I have a sudden burst of creative energy leading me to something to report, I will probably not blog again until the new year. I will of course, however, answer any posts that arise between now and then. In that time, and for now:

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

[Lance Botelle]

#6 Back On Track Again

http://worldofalthea...rack-again.html

Time for another update ... and the first for this year. Probably like most NWN builders, I have a paper notebook in which I keep a list of all those bits and pieces I need to do. Items get added or removed from that list as I go about designing the module, make changes or mark things as completed. My goal for this year is to NOT add anything else to that list at all ... and to concentrate on finishing those final stages to get this module ready for BETA, and perhaps, even its release.

There always seems to be new obstacles at times trying to hamper progress, but while they may slow me down, I am still committed to finishing this module. At the risk of repeating myself, all the core code is now in place and it is just a matter of me adding content. However, I now have to add content with respect to my own systems as well. E.g. Monsters that may appear in the bestiary and spells need code adding to work with the various systems I have relating to spell usage.

As a whole, I only have four quests lines to finish and then I am done! Occasionally, I do still find I come across small problems like the flute animation issue I have posted about recently, but overall, I am still making progress. So, just to say, it's a new year and I am back on track again!



Not Much Further Now!

[andysks]

What do we mean by flute animation? That it looks a bit off?

[Lance Botelle]

What do we mean by flute animation? That it looks a bit off?

Hi andysks,

I have a flute item that you could activate when equipped. Initially it would always play an "activate item" animation before my "flute animation", which looked cumbersome.

Check out this post: - http://forum.bioware...solution-found/

Cheers,
Lance.

[Eguintir Eligard]

Good to see. As I always say on your blog posts (I'm almost like a bit character now) finish the game and leave the nitpicks for you to do while people beta test.

[Lance Botelle]

Good to see. As I always say on your blog posts (I'm almost like a bit character now) finish the game and leave the nitpicks for you to do while people beta test.

Agreed ...

Lance.